Personally: Creation Myth

Culture

Helena does not want kids. Her husband believes she’ll change her mind—she has so much love to give, she would be a perfect mother. That will never happen, she tells him. Again. And again. Until one day, he leaves. In the silence, doubt starts...

Location:

Canada

Genres:

Culture

Description:

Helena does not want kids. Her husband believes she’ll change her mind—she has so much love to give, she would be a perfect mother. That will never happen, she tells him. Again. And again. Until one day, he leaves. In the silence, doubt starts rushing in. So she asks her close friends, her mother, her sister, even a perfect stranger—did she make the right decision? What is the purpose of life? Center your pleasure, says one friend. Go for adventure, says another, and isn’t parenthood the biggest adventure of all? Be true to yourself, says a father who regrets his decision. But the voice she needs to hear is her own. Get lost in someone else’s life. From a mysterious childhood spent on the run, to a courageous escape from domestic violence, each season of Personally invites you to explore the human experience in all its complexity, one story — or season — at a time. This is what it sounds like to be human. Hear episodes early and ad-free on CBC Stories Premium on Apple Podcasts. Season 1 | Run, Hide, Repeat: a story of a childhood spent on the run. Season 2 | Welcome to Paradise: a courageous escape from domestic violence. Season 3 | Short Sighted: an attempt to explain what vision loss feels like by exploring how it sounds. Season 4 | Sorry About The Kid: an emotional, deeply personal meditation on the loss of a sibling. Season 5 | Toy Soldier: The unbelievable story of a Jewish boy amongst Nazis. Season 6 | Forever is a Long Time: Every living member of Ian Coss' family who has been married has gotten divorced. Can his marriage end differently? Season 7 | NO: Kaitlin Prest found herself wondering if the world forgot the lessons that shook 2017. Season 8 | Resurrection: The story of Dane Stewart, a Canadian playwright, and what he did with a cache of love letters by a playwright named Daryl Allen, who died in 1991 from HIV/AIDS.

Twitter:

@cbcpodcasts

Language:

English

Website:

https://www.cbc.ca/podcasts

Email:

emilie.quesnel@cbc.ca

Episodes

Episode 6: The Nuclear Option

3/10/2026

Since she can’t decide if she should get sterilized or not, Helena asks a stranger. A guy named Sam who doesn’t have any stake in her life. Sam regretted having his kid. He didn’t realize at the time what he was getting into, what he would be giving up. But he understood the moment his son was born. So when Helena asks, “Should I have a kid or no?” Sam is ready for it, “I thought you'd never ask.” Hear all episodes of Personally: Creation Myth now, early and ad-free, on CBC Stories Premium on Apple Podcasts.

Duration:00:36:02

Episode 5: All of it

3/3/2026

Just like her grandmother, her great-grandmother, and her aunt, Helena gets depressed. She sits down with her mother Annika, to really talk about it. “It was as if your skin no longer fit,” her mother says. Together they unearth the painful moments that have shaped their relationship. After years of struggling with her mental health, Helena is left wondering what to do with the time she has left? Hear all episodes of Personally: Creation Myth now, early and ad-free, on CBC Stories Premium on Apple Podcasts.

Duration:00:35:06

Episode 4: Freedom Form

2/24/2026

With her sterilization scheduled, Helena sits down with her new lover to explain her decision. But the conversation leads in an unexpected direction. More confused than ever, she reaches out to Alejandra, a woman who underwent the same procedure and doesn’t regret her decision—it confirmed her true identity. Helena is not so sure. The clock is ticking. What is she scared of? Hear all episodes of Personally: Creation Myth now, early and ad-free, on CBC Stories Premium on Apple Podcasts.

Duration:00:38:15

Episode 3: Doors Do Close

2/17/2026

After her abortion, Helena’s marriage is at a tipping point. David still wants kids, and she wants her tubes tied. In a moment of despair, a conversation with Ama the poet shifts Helena's understanding of what a good life can look like. Maybe she can center her pleasure? Hear all episodes of Personally: Creation Myth now, early and ad-free, on CBC Stories Premium on Apple Podcasts.

Duration:00:41:34

Episode 2: Pregnant

2/10/2026

Helena does not want kids. Her husband does. For years they’ve battled it out. Then, while he is on his way back from a surfing trip, she finds out she’s pregnant. What will she tell him? What should she do? She calls her dear friend Joshua for help: he’s wise, he’s a parent, he knows her well. But she doesn’t have a lot of time. Her husband will be home in an hour. This episode was a 2025 Tribeca Official Selection. Hear all episodes of Personally: Creation Myth now, early and ad-free, on CBC Stories Premium on Apple Podcasts.

Duration:00:36:47

Episode 1: Nothing Complicated

2/10/2026

Helena knows she doesn’t want kids. She’s sure of it. Almost. It was a constant topic of conversation with her friend Sigrid in her 20s. Sigrid would try to convince her, but having children was not what she wanted for her life. Then one day in Paris, she meets David. Hear all episodes of Personally: Creation Myth now, early and ad-free, on CBC Stories Premium on Apple Podcasts.

Duration:00:39:33

Introducing: Creation Myth

1/20/2026

Introducing the new season of Personally, called Creation Myth. Helena does not want to have kids. Kid, child, baby - not for her. She’s just not parent material. So why is she obsessed with parenthood? Why does she ask her friends who are parents for every detail? She’s in her forties now. The door is almost closed. And suddenly, she wonders. Does she want a kid?

Duration:00:02:01

Episode 8: San Francisco, 2022

12/15/2025

The final chapter in our series on Daryl Allen. We end the story where it started. Email us at hi@resurrectionpodcast.com The creation of this podcast was made possible thanks to the financial support of the Conseildes arts de Montréal, le Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, and the Canada Council for the Arts.

Duration:01:07:44

Episode 7: Mustang Zero-One

12/8/2025

We share Daryl's play with the world. The creation of this podcast was made possible thanks to the financial support of the Conseildes arts de Montréal, le Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, and the Canada Council for the Arts.

Duration:00:53:21

Episode 6: What Happened in Vietnam

12/1/2025

This is the story of what happened in Vietnam. The creation of this podcast was made possible thanks to the financial support of the Conseildes arts de Montréal, le Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, and the Canada Council for the Arts.

Duration:00:45:55

Episode 5: Janet

11/24/2025

Janet's side of the story. The creation of this podcast was made possible thanks to the financial support of the Conseildes arts de Montréal, le Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, and the Canada Council for the Arts.

Duration:01:01:47

Episode 4: Kansas (Part Two)

11/17/2025

In the second part of our trip to Kansas, we go on a hunt for the Allen Family Farm. The creation of this podcast was made possible thanks to the financial support of the Conseildes arts de Montréal, le Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, and the Canada Council for the Arts.

Duration:00:33:32

Episode 3: Kansas (Part One)

11/10/2025

In this episode, we go to Kansas. The creation of this podcast was made possible thanks to the financial support of the Conseildes arts de Montréal, le Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, and the Canada Council for the Arts.

Duration:00:35:23

Episode 2: Four Christmases

11/3/2025

Daryl and Dan were in love, until something happened that changed everything. This is the story of the evolution of Daryl and Dan's relationship; a queer love story set against the backdrop of the AIDS crisis. The creation of this podcast was made possible thanks to the financial support of the Conseildes arts de Montréal, le Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, and the Canada Council for the Arts.

Duration:00:39:22

Episode 1: San Francisco, 1979

11/3/2025

Daryl Allen always wanted to be a playwright, but before his art found success, his life was cut short by HIV. Before he dies, he leaves one of his scripts with an ex-boyfriend, asking his ex to do something with the play. 25 years later, the script is given to Dane Stewart, a playwright living in Montreal, and he falls down the rabbit hole. The creation of this podcast was made possible thanks to the financial support of the Conseil des arts de Montréal, le Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, and the Canada Council for the Arts.

Duration:00:34:23

Introducing: Resurrection

10/31/2025

In a moment of fate in 2017, Dane Stewart is gifted a bundle of love letters and theatrical scripts, written by a queer man named Daryl Allen before AIDS took his life in 1991. Along with the letters, Dane is given a task: tell Daryl's story and give his art the audience it lost when his life was cut short. Part investigation, part documentary, and part love story, Resurrection asks us what we leave behind when we go. Daryl proves that for every person lost to AIDS, there's a life story just waiting to be resurrected. The creation of this podcast was made possible thanks to the financial support of the Conseil des arts de Montréal, le Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, and the Canada Council for the Arts.

Duration:00:03:11

Part Four: Questions

9/30/2025

Many listeners were left with a lot of lingering questions and thoughts after the first three episodes. In the final installment of ‘NO’ we respond to some of the questions that we heard a lot of. What do I tell my kids? What if my no DOES mean yes? Additionally, some of the producers and trusted sex educator, Samara Breger unpack some of the blind spots and larger themes from the last three episodes. We value your input. Fill out our listener questionnaire here!

Duration:00:32:49

Part Three: Answers

9/30/2025

The third episode of NO: Kaitlin’s search for the answer to why coercion is so omnipresent lands her in one obvious place. Straight, cis-gendered men. In this episode, Kaitlin consults the men in her life that she loves, her friends, her father, her exes to see if they had ever pressured someone into having unwanted intimacy. But she knows she cannot end her search here. She must reach out to the men who have transgressed her to get their side of the story.

Duration:00:40:33

Part Two: Inheritance

9/23/2025

In the second episode of the series, we catch up to Kaitlin while she is in her mid-twenties, waiting to fall in love. Over the years she has become an expert at advocating for her own pleasure. She has learned how to say no to the sex that she doesn’t want to have with tact and grace. Just as Kaitlin thinks she has figured out the art of sexual negotiations, another unsettling experience becomes a catalyst for a search for answers.

Duration:00:33:55

Part One: Advance

9/23/2025

We meet Kaitlin in her youth as she learns to navigate her first sexual experiences along with the confusion of her desires. Kaitlin learns how to decline unwanted sexual advances and the difficulty of advocating for her needs. But what is she to do when her words are ignored and her agency is taken from her? "Advance" a non-psychedelic trip into my girlhood was originally produced in May 2017 and features sound design and composition by Shani Aviram. 2025 UPDATE: Drove by North Dundas the other day on a joyride. The smoking tree is not small anymore.

Duration:00:16:46